Convergence concept
The Convergence concept is an idea suggested by Lori Cole as an alternative to their older Force wave concept. It suggests that there was an event in which all the versions of the Gloriana/QFG universe (by class, and other reasons) converged into a single universe (before they were bornConcept material, via Corey Cole, private correspondence, long before QFG1) leading to events of Hero-U. Convergence also refers to a number of parallel worlds both scientific and magical which are connected to Gloriana in some way (see Coriann for example). Background In a facebook postshttps://www.facebook.com/groups/559200810845453/permalink/1409192619179597/ Lori Cole has stated another theory they use to explain anachronism; :In the grand scheme of the universe of QfG, we are talking about a series of Parallel Universes that occasionally have rifts between them. And some worlds are more advanced technologically. There have been some crossovers from the Technology based worlds and the magic ones. Some of the Science on Gloriana comes from another world. ::Gloriana is a magic rich world, and magic affects time more than science does. ::Gloriana is like Schrodinger's Cat, nothing is definite until the player does something. She has also stated that time flows differently in fairy lands (see also Erana (Hero-U)) and Coriann... :But Erana was lost to the Fae for more than 30 years, mostly because time moves differently in the Faerie lands. Hero-U takes place in a 'convergent world' made up of the parallel universes of the different character classes and hybrids (possibly similar to an Elder Scroll's Dragon Break, though this is not confirmed), as Lori stated that the universe was: :The convergent one, of course! Certain aspects are still unclear such as if lands themselves may be seen as 'parallel universes' that have crossed over, or allow crossing over between other parallel world nations, and if magic physically effects how time functions in each of those pocket universes (much like in Narnia where time moves faster than the outside world, or Katrina's magic causes time to flow differently in her retreat (so that sun never rises), or the influence of elven magic on others in fantasy) Lori later gave more context that apparently in this convergent world, that each of the classes didn't simply merge into one, but each became siblings of each other representive of each class, with the thief being their sister. And that this 'convergence' occured before the start of QFG1, and was to appear in the How To Be A Hero book series. :To make sense of the different character classes in QFG and to keep some vague continuity between the past events of the game and the future of the world, I've gone with the history of the events with the Hero of QFG actually being four different sibling. Hawk the Warrior is the one who married Elsa. Falcon, his twin and a Paladin, married Erana. Owl the Wizard eventually marries Katrina. Wren, the Rogue, who disguises herself as a boy, never does marry Nawar, although they have a flirtation. This was all part of the children's book I wrote years ago with Mishell Baker that never saw printing. Corey has brought up time travel or parallel universe travel, and shifts in time in his explanations as well (when discussing world of Gloriana, specifically when discussing elements of the Long timeline, see also Return timeline). : ...only possible ambiguity is the question of how the Dark Master's summoning spell worked. That is not well defined, so time travel or alternate-universe travel is possible. If so, Erasmus's spell that transports the Hero to Silmaria might have "cleaned up" the dimensional side-effects of the Dark Master's spell. And the idea of lands existing at different points in time or time working different in different places also appears in the older Force wave concept. :...the time on our parallel Earth did not advance in a stable time pace, which explains the anachronisms found in the games. :In the reality of Glorianna, time did not progress in the same pace in all locations, and hence we have the Victorian Mordavia on the same planet as medieval Spielburg (and other more humorous anachronisms). Also in that reality, animals started to evolve rapidly.-Lori Cole (paraphrased from interview) Much of this seems to suggest that chronology should not be taken for granted in Gloriana, and that certain aspects of the world might progress non-linearly compared to scientific concept of time, and be the cause of any number of magical paradoxes, and time dilation. It is confirmed by Corey Cole that in the four heroes backstory that the four twins were born in Gloriana to the same family.Corey Cole, private correspondence So any 'convergence' that takes place is either symbolic/literary rather than literal convergence or there was a literal convergence, it occured sometime before children were born. Additionally its possible that "Earth" 'our world' wasn't initially considered to be seperate part of the Quest for Glory universe, but is something that was adopted for the How To Be A Hero School, School For Heroes, and Hero-U materials. Corey Cole has stated that as such indicating that Quest For Glory was originally intended to be an interpretation of our "Earth" rather than a parallel world... :Quest for Glory games are a fantasy reimagining of Earth rather than a parallel world. Gloriana is the name we used for this alternate Earth in our tabletop role-playing games and in some auxiliary materials for Quest for Glory. We also had a parallel world (accessible through spells and magical portals) named "Coriann" after our names. That one actually saw more tabletop gaming and is definitely *not* an Earth-cognate world. Other spinoff material such as Adventures of a "Wanna-Be" Hero and partially associated The Castle of Dr. Brain (via QFG4) also used the conceit that Hero's Quest and Quest For Glory were more or less set in 'our world' (albeit one that was a bit more whimsical and silly). But starting in How To Be A Hero and continued into School For Heroes, the Head Master (Famous Adventurer) took on students from 'our earth'. In the backstory the Coles acted like mediators and adjunct professors who passed on classwork between the worlds, and mediating between the professors back in Gloriana. Some of this is nodded to in Hero-U itself when examining some of the "Backer Paintings" and other decorations in the university. References Category:Behind the scenes Category:Alternate Canon Category:Hero-U